A youth was beaten and charred to death by villagers over allegation of felling trees in Jharkhand, which passed anti-mob lynching law in December last year.

The incident took place at around 4.30pm in Besrajara village under Bandarchua panchayat in the Kolebira police station area of Simdega district, around 120km from state capital Ranchi.

The youth identified as Sanju Pradhan was dragged out of his house by nearly 200 residents of neighbouring Bambalkera village and was beaten up over allegation of illegally felling trees in the forest. The incensed villagers did not pay any heed to the fervent pleas of the youth’s relatives, including his wife Sapna Devi.

When the youth became unconscious because of the beating, the mob dragged the body into the woods kept at the backyard of the house and set the woods on fire.

The Kolebira police reached the spot at around 5.30pm and doused the flame using a fire tender and took out the half-burnt body and sent it for autopsy at the Simdega Sadar Hospital.

Simdega SP Shams Tabrez and deputy SP Simdega Sadar David Dodrai are camping at the incident site to ward off any violence by villagers and arrest the culprits.

Several attempts to contact Simdega SP Shams Tabrez on his official phone went unanswered.

However, DSP headquarters Simdega Patras Barwa confirmed of the incident and said that police reinforcement has reached the site and both superintendent of police and DSP Sadar are camping at the place.